Journey to Castle Oblivion
by MoonlightEclipse3
Summary: Sora has been lured to Castle Oblivion by Organization XIII thinking that he will find Riku and King Mickey. However the Organization intends to use the castle to eliminate Sora as they now have Roxas to gather hearts for them. However, the ruler of the Castle has her own agenda, and intends to carry it out as well...


**Hey everyone. So this is something that I figured I would try and see how it goes over with all of you. Its basically my own remake of Chain of memories.**

**I've changed a few major things, like for example the whole organization is at Castle Oblivion, as well as there being no basement to the castle, and a few other interesting twists that I don't want to spoil.**

***Disclaimer- I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or from Square Enix. All of my words are my own, except for selected quotes.**

**Chapter 1: The Welcoming Party**

Roxas walked into the workroom and for once, the only person he saw was Axel. He looked around, a little confused at first, then walked over to where Axel was leaning against the wall. "What's going on?" he asked. "Did everyone already leave on missions?"

Axel nodded. "You could put it that way."

"How come you're still here."

"They asked me to fill you in before I joined up with them."

"You mean everyone's together? Where are they?" he asked, a little excitedly.

Axel looked away. "I was told not to share that with you."

"Why not!"

"Xemnas said it would be dangerous for you. And besides, he needs you here."

"That's not fair Axel. I'm just as useful as any of you!" he screamed.

"Whoa, take it easy Roxas." He put his hands up in the air. "I don't have any control over this."

Roxas slumped his shoulders in defeat. "When are you coming back?"

He turned toward the window. "Who knows? Hopefully soon if everything works out." He turned back to Roxas and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Here, this is a list of missions Saix wants you to carry out."

He thought for a second and begrudgingly took it. He looked at it for a moment, then created a portal. Before he stepped through, he turned back to look at Axel. "Come back soon." he said as he left.

Axel created a portal of his own. "Yeah, I hope I can come back at all." he said as he left too.

* * *

Sora, Donald, and Goofy were walking along a empty road, surrounded by nothing but empty fields. It was a sunny day and they were enjoying not having to fight heartless for a change. However, Donald was getting bored pretty fast. "So now what do we do?" he asked.

"We gotta find Riku and King Mickey." Sora replied almost instantly.

"But where do we start lookin for that there door to the light?" Goofy asked.

Sora thought for a moment and sighed. Almost on cue, a dog came walking by not to far ahead of them. He was carrying a letter in his mouth and when he saw the three of them, his tail started wagging excitedly.

"Hey there, Pluto!" Goofy called out to him. "Whatcha got there?"

Donald squinted his eyes and noticed a symbol on the letter. "That's the king's seal!" he said excitedly.

Sora walked a little closer. "Hey, do you know where Riku and the king are?"

Pluto almost seemed to nod as he ran off suddenly. Sora laughed in excitement as he looked back at the others. "Come on guys!" he said as he started running in Pluto's direction.

After a few hours, the sun had begun to set. But Sora was still going full speed down the road. "Wak!" Donald yelled as load as he could. Sora finally stopped and turned around. After a moment, Donald and Goofy finally caught up. Both were panting heavily and about ready to drop.

Goofy was the first to recover. "Sora, don't ya think we should call it a day?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but a loud noise came from behind him. He spun around, only to find Donald asleep in the grass. Sora slumped his shoulders in defeat. "I guess we'll have to wait till tomorrow." he said dejectedly.

It was still dark when Sora suddenly sat up in the field. He looked over at his friends. "Did you guys…" he started but they were sound asleep. He shook his head. "Maybe I'll take a look around." he said to himself. He walked a little ways up the path but didn't notice anything strange. Then, a voice behind him said "Ahead of you lies someone you've lost."

He turned around but there was no one there. "Someone… I've lost?" he said to himself. He turned back around and saw someone standing in front of him, wearing all black and with a hood covering his face. Sora summoned his key blade but the figure seemed to almost glide away from him. "Who are you!" He demanded as he chased down the mysterious person.

"If you wish to know the answers you seek, then you'll follow me." the man said as he seemed to fade into the night. Sora stopped running and looked around, trying to see where he disappeared too. "But be warned," a voice said from seemingly nowhere, "the path to the truth is not always visible." Suddenly, a dark portal opened up in front of him. Sora rushed back to where Donald and Goofy were sleeping.

"Guys, I know where to find Riku and the king!" He yelled excitedly.

Donald yawned and rolled over. "That's great, Sora. Can it wait till morning?" Then, as he comprehended what he'd heard, he jumped up so suddenly that Sora fell backwards. "Well, come on. What are we waiting for!" he asked. He looked at the still sleeping Goofy. "Wake up, you big palooka.

"Five more minutes." he said in a drowsy voice. Donald growled in frustration. Then he pulled out his staff and shouted "Thunder!" Bolts of lightning fell all around Goofy.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Well, g' morning Donald. Hyuck, I mean g' night."

Sora stood there impatiently. "Come on guys, before it disappears." he said running back town the path.

"Before what disappears?" Donald asked as he and Goofy ran after him. When they caught up to him, they saw him running toward a dark portal in the road.

"Hey, you sure that's safe Sora?" Goofy yelled out to him.

"Only one way to find out." he called back as he ran through and disappeared.

"Lets go, Goofy." Donald said as they followed Sora through the portal.

* * *

They came out on what appeared to be a floating plateau in the middle of nowhere. They looked around but all they saw was grey-black darkness. Goofy was the first to speak. "Do ya think this is a trap guys?" He sounded nervous. Sora turned around and smiled.

"How can you be so calm at a time like this!" Donald yelled and jumped up in frustration. Sora just laughed and started walking. Donald muttered under his breath as they followed behind him. After a few minutes, the all gasped in amazement as a giant castle seemed to appear right before their eyes.

Sora strolled up to the front door. "Do you think it's alright to just barge in." Goofy asked.

Sora shrugged his shoulders. "There's nowhere else we can go. Besides, I have a feeling King Mickey and Riku are here."

Donald gave him a weird look. "You know, I have the same feeling too." They both looked at Goofy.

"Do ya think it's a coincidence we all had the same feeling when we saw this castle?"

Sora started to push open the castle doors. "Whatever it is, we'll find the answers inside." he said as they walked inside. The walls of the castle were a pearly white and it was extreme bright inside. They all closed their eyes for a moment to adjust. When they opened them, They saw a figure dressed in all black at the end of the room. Sora summoned his key blade. "You again." he said in a slightly surprised voice.

The person didn't respond, he simply rushed at Sora. He put the key blade up to block, but he passed through as if he was air. "Huh?" Sora said, confused as he turned around. The man was standing in front of the now closed doors to the castle.

Donald pulled out his staff. "Lets see how he handles my magic. Fire!" he shouted. But nothing happened. "Fire!" he tried again, but still nothing. "Come on, blizzard? thunder?" None of the spells worked. "Why isn't it working?" he asked in disappointment.

"I should think its obvious." The figure spoke. "As soon as you walked in, you all forgot every spell and ability you ever learned. Such is the power of Castle Oblivion."

Sora stepped towards him. "So this is Castle Oblivion?" he asked. His answer was a card thrown at him. He reached out his hand and caught it. "What's this?" he asked, looking at the card. A picture of Traverse Town was on it.

"I sampled your memories and came up with that."

"Sampled… my memories?" he asked, confused and a little nervous.

"Use the cards to move forward and claim what you seek. But be careful, for things are not always as they seem." he finished cryptically as he disappeared.

Sora looked around but there was no trace the figure had ever been there. Donald looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "Well, what do we do now?"

He looked at the card and then looked at the door at the end of the hallway. "I guess we use the card to move forward."

"Are ya sure we can trust what that guy said?" Goofy asked.

Sora shook his head. "Of course not. But whatever lies ahead, we'll face it together."

"Right!" Donald and Goofy said in unison.

Sora walked up to the door with the card. "Now how do you use this thing?" he asked. There weren't any slots or holes for it. Nor was there even a keyhole. He tried holding up the card. Suddenly, it started to glow brightly. The door seemed to react to that and swung open. "Come on, guys!" Sora cried out as he rushed through the opening.

The landscape changed suddenly. It was night and there were lights and wooden buildings all around. Sora stopped and looked at his surroundings. "I'm actually here. This is Traverse Town. But… how?"

"You're not actually here. This is just what's in your memories; Recreated from the card you used."

"Who said that?" Sora asked, looking around. He didn't see anybody, but he did notice that Donald and Goofy weren't with him anymore. "Where are my friends!" he asked, more angry then worried.

"The laws of this castle require that your friends be turned into cards."

"What kind of game is this! None of this makes any sense!"

The hooded figure suddenly appeared in front of Sora. "Everything you do in this castle, whether fighting or opening doors, requires cards. That is the law of Castle Oblivion." The figure glided back a little ways. "Now observe. Sora, reach into your pocket." He did so and he gasped. He pulled out a small deck of cards. Each of them had a picture of his Kingdom key and a numerical value in the corner.

"How do I use them?" he asked.

"Just arrange them as you like, then try and attack me."

"Sounds easy enough." he said. He arranged them in descending order, nine to one, then put them back in his pocket. "Alright, you asked for it." he said as he summoned the key blade. The figure didn't even try to block the first few swings. Then he started playing cards of his own. However, all of his cards were numbered zero. Every time he played one, Sora would stagger back.

"This is called a card-break," he explained. "it occurs when someone uses a higher value card. Or in this case, a card valued zero. Like fighting, your deck requires balance. Otherwise, you won't make it in Castle Oblivion." he finished as he disappeared.

"Wait, what about my friends?" Sora cried out.

"Their cards will come to aid you in battle. Use them wisely"

Sora sighed and slumped his shoulders. "This might be harder then I thought."

"What might be hard, Sora?" someone asked from behind him.

He turned around suddenly. Donald and Goofy were standing right there. "What happened to you guys?"

"We don't know, Sora." Goofy began. "After we walked through that there door, there was a real bright light. And now we're here with you…" he finished as if he was unsure of what he was saying.

Sora looked around the town, trying to take in everything he was seeing and hearing. "Well, what do we do now?" he asked out loud.

"Walk the halls of latent memory and you may find that which you seek." a voice answered. Sora looked up and a card floated down from the sky. He grabbed it and looked it over.

"Key of beginnings…" he said to the others. Upon saying those words, a door appeared in front of him. It had a crown emblem on the front of it. "I guess that's what this is for."

"Yes, but from this point you walk alone." the voice said again.

"Alone…" He looked at Donald and Goofy.

"Don't be afraid Sora. Remember, all for one-"

"And one for all." Goofy finished for Donald.

Sora nodded and smiled. "Right." he said, turning back to the door. He held up the card and the door glowed in response. After a moment, it swung open and Sora ran through it.

* * *

Back in the castle, Demyx was pacing around nervously, muttering to himself. Luxord was leaning against the wall with his arms folded and Larxene was shouting angrily to anyone who'd listen. "Why did we get stuck watching the brat?" she spat. "And would you stop with the pacing back and forth, its pissing me off."

"Demyz immediately stopped and gave her a look of mingled surprise and fear. Luxord looked up at her. " You know it does no good to shout. Xemnas put us down here because he figured we could handle Sora without difficulty. Its just the way the cards were dealt."

"Humph, what do you know." she snapped, turning her attention on him.

"Enough to know that we were trusted to get the job done. Nothing else matters."

"So I suppose you'd like to volunteer to take on the brat."

Luxord smiled. "Well the cards are my forte…"

"Better you then me." Demyx said quickly.

"But," Luxord continued. "I think the better question is why don't you try your luck, Larxene?"

She turned away. "I have better things to do then take care of a child."

"So you say." he said cryptically as he disappeared through a portal.

* * *

Sora came out in the middle of the third district. He looked around at the familiar surroundings and sighed. "Fighting by myself seems like its gonna be harder then I thought." Then, a familiar figure walked up to him.

"Hey, don't you know its dangerous out here with all the Heartless? You shouldn't be out here alone."

"I can handle it, Leon. I've fought loads of Heartless." He smiled confidently and held the key blade in the air. His smile vanished as Leon pointed the gun blade at him.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" he challenged.

"Hey, take it easy." Sora said as he started walking toward Leon.

"Don't come any closer!" he warned as he shot a fireball at Sora.

He barely rolled out of the way and when he stood up, he had a shocked look on his face. "Leon, don't you remember? We fought the Heartless together. Right here!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" he roared, sending another fireball at Sora.

This time, he deflected it away with the key blade. He looked at the ground for a moment, then he stared at Leon with a determined look on his face. "I guess I'll have to jog you're memory then." And with that, he ran at Leon.

A bright light flashed and suddenly, the walls rose up around them. Leon proceeded to play three cards at the same time. His sword glowed and doubled in size. Sora was taken aback and it was all he could do to avoid Leon's attacks. "You can use more then one card at a time?" Sora asked, confused.

"Its called a sleight, don't you know anything about fighting?" he said angrily as he set up another sleight, this time shooting multiple fireballs.

"Ugh" Sora grunted as he blocked attack after attack. He slumped to one knee, exhausted.

Leon seized his chance. He set up a third sleight and ran at Sora. He leapt into the air with his sword high overhead. "It's over!" he shouted. All Sora could do was raise the key blade to protect himself.

"Squall, stop it!" a girl's voice rang out. Leon dropped to the ground, still holding the gun blade over Sora. The bright light flashed again and suddenly Yuffie was standing behind him. He turned around to face her. "That's Leon." he said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"I think you've made you're point. Obviously Sora doesn't want to fight you."

"Wait, how do you know his name? Have you two met before?"

Yuffie shook her head. "Nope, never met him before. But I'm sure that's who he is, right?" she called over to him.

"Um, yeah," he replied, getting up slowly.

Leon was shaking his head. "None of this makes any sense."

"Lets go talk to Aerith, maybe she'll understand what's happening." Yuffie suggested.

They both started to walk away. Then Yuffie stopped and ran back to Sora. "Here, you'll need this." she said with a smile and ran back to Leon.

Sora looked at the card. It had a picture of a heart on it. "Key of guidance." he read as he put the card in his pocket.

**I know this starts off a lot like the game, but the further in I get, the more it'll change and fit into how I want the story to be.**

**I Added a few twists to make it interesting. I like how they turned out, I hope you all do too**

**In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy this and I'll try to get the next one up soon XD**


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